Welcome Back Home
by StarryRavenFire
Summary: Sakura is in her Junior year. The guy she likes has returned and it looks like things will be okay. But why are people disappearing, and why is she getting flashbacks, or could they be visions, of Syaoran with another girl? [Please R&R]
1. Five Years Later

**A word from Starry:** Please enjoy this fic! I'm excited to how it will come out. I'll see if I can get chapter two up soon! Please review if you can and tell me what you thought, thanks! 

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I don't own them. I wish I did, but I don't.

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**Welcome Back Home**

**Chapter 1 – Five Years Later**

"Are you sure you don't want to go with us, Sakura?"

Sakura Kinomoto looked up at her best friend, Tomoyo Daidoiji and lightly shook her head. A few strands of her auburn hair fell in front of her eyes, but Sakura quickly brushed them away.

"I'm sure, Tomoyo." She smiled at the black haired girl and began to turn around.

"Hai," Tomoyo nodded before turning around as well and walking off with Rika, Naoko and Chiharu.

Glad that Tomoyo hadn't hesitated to go with the other girls, Sakura picked up her pace and continued her way towards her house.

After the events back in Sakura's sixth year, life had changed for almost everyone. The friendship between Sakura and Tomoyo became so strong that kids in their school saw them as sisters. Upon entering the eighth grade, both girls had decided to rid off '-chan' when saying their names and just call each other's name, normally… like family.

All the small sixth graders had grown, and were about to enter their first trimester of their eleventh grade year. Everyone was happy that they were moving up together into the same classes. Sure, a few exchanges had been made as well as new students arriving into the High School, but none were the same as the new students that had arrived in both Sakura's fourth and fifth grade years.

Syaron Li, Sakura's first real crush, hadn't returned or written to anyone, not even to Sakura. This had made Sakura very unhappy the first few years after his departure, but over the last five years the young card mistress had learned how to shut away feelings that hurt to have. Everyone always wanted to see her with a smile on her face, so why not get rid of emotions that made you frown?

"I'm home!" Sakura closed the door behind her as she took off her shoes and placed them neatly against the wall. She slipped on her baby blue slippers and climbed up the stairs and into her room.

The bed she'd had no longer sat in its regular place, instead, a bigger bed had replaced it along with a desk and a small entertainment system. Sakura really didn't call it 'entertainment' seeing as all she had there was the small television she had since she was small and the same old VCR with a few papers on them.

She walked over to her desk and hung her side bag on the chair before falling back on her bed. This was Sakura's usual routine when returning into her room. Just laying on her bed and staring up at the ceiling thinking about things like school, what she was going to cook for dinner and how her older brother was doing in college with Yukito.

"Sakura?"

Sakura sat up on her bed and got up in no hurry and opened the door. "Yes?"

Her father, Fujitaka Kinomoto, was outside her door wearing a peach colored apron and a smile on his kind face.

"I thought you were coming home later." He placed a hand on her doorframe and studied his daughter for a minute with a curious expression on his face.

"I thought so too, but I remembered that I had to get ready for the first day of school tomorrow." Lie.

Fujitaka raised an eyebrow and scratched his chin lightly. "Ready for school? I thought you said you had prepared everything the week before."

Sakura sweat dropped and tried to laugh. "Well, you know, I didn't get everything ready…" She scratched the back of her head and hoped he would stop asking questions and go back down and finish cooking his delicious food.

A questionable expression was now evident on Mr. Kinomoto's face, but he could sense that his daughter didn't want to be pestered in that subject. "Alright, dinner will be ready in twenty minutes." He turned to leave but paused. "Oh, Touya called, he says Yukito and him might come down for winter break."

At the announcement, Sakura's face lit up. "Really?"

He nodded.

"I can't wait! I'll finally see Yukito!" She laughed a rosy hue on her cheeks. "And Big Brother!"

That made Sakura happy, very happy. She hadn't seen them for a year, and she missed them terribly. They had begun their education after high school in Japan, but after an English professor met them and talked with them, they moved their studies to London.

Fujitaka chuckled, nodding and turning to walk away.

Sakura waited for her father to descend the stairs before closing her door and leaning against it.

Her older brother was returning home and so was Yukito! She would call Tomoyo and Aunt Sonomi over, and they could all have a wonderful dinner… together! This made her smile once more, a real and rare smile.

"It's no use just standing here, I must finish." Sakura walked over to her desk and opened the first drawer on her right, the drawer that held the Sakura Book.

With her cream colored hands, she picked up the pink book and with her left hand, she traced her fingers over the engravings and clasp. She closed her eyes and held the book up to her chest, letting the memories flow into her mind.

It had been five years since she last used her cards in battle, but she always took them out and made small chats with them to keep them from getting bored. She liked to maintain her friends happy, and at times, she'd let a few of them out to stretch a bit like the DASH card as well as FLOWER who loved to fill the Kinomoto's garden with beautiful nadeshiko's and other beauties.

"You're back! I was waiting for you, Sakura. How dare you leave me without telling me where you were going?"

Sakura opened her eyes and placed the book back down in the drawer. She turned to face Kero, in his disguised form and a small smile appeared on her face once more.

"Sorry, Kero-chan, but it was important and I forgot." She sat on her bed indian style and continued looking at her yellow friend. "And where have you been all this time?" She gave him a brief glare before getting it interrupted with a pillow to her face. "HEY!"

Kero smirked, getting another pillow and throwing it at her. "I've been around, you know…" He wriggled his eyebrows before flying down to Sakura's desk and opening a small container that he had brought with him. He took out a few cupcakes before sticking them into his mouth. "Yum!"

Rolling her green eyes, Sakura shook her head and said, "You'll never change! I'm surprised you haven't gotten fat." She laughed at her comment and ducked when another pillow was thrown at her. "Guess what?" she said, after dodging another pillow.

Kero swallowed the food he had in his mouth before nodding and letting her know to go on.

"Yukito and Big Brother are coming home for winter break." She propped her elbow on a pillow that was now on her lap. "We'll get to see them after so long!"

Kero finished swallowing another sweet treat before he could answer. "Ha, that's good to hear. Though, the house is better off without your Big Brother and you arguing." He popped another cupcake into his mouth. "Yue will be back as well…"

"Yep, can't wait to see all of them. Everyone will be back and things will be like the old days." Sakura fell back on her bed and began staring at the ceiling.

Kero noticed this and knew she always did this when she spoke about the past and began to think about _him._ Of course, he never said anything because it was horrible seeing Sakura sad.

"So… you start school tomorrow?" A change of subject was good right now.

Sakura's pondering state was broken and she sat back up. "Hai," she said, with a nod.

"Looking forward to it?"

"Yep! I get to see my friends again and spend more time with Tomoyo." She smiled, but if you looked closely (something that Kero always did) you could notice that it faltered a bit before going back to how it was before, a happy smile. "Who knows, perhaps I'll meet someone new this year." She shrugged.

"Ah, yes, meeting new people is good. Very good…" In went another sweet.

"Sakura, dinner's ready!"

"Hai!" Sakura quickly got up, slipping her feet in her slippers and dashing to the door.

"Sakura!"

She stopped right when she was going to close the door and looked at Kero. "What?"

"Bring me some of dessert and some croquettes!"

"Alright." Sakura nodded and closed the door, before going downstairs.

Half an hour later, Sakura returned with a small plate filled with chocolate cookies. She'd helped her dad clean up and said good night before rushing up to her room. She couldn't find Kero in her room, she figured he was probably out doing God knows what. She walked over to her desk and placed the plate there. He'd eventually eat it when he returned.

She yawned as she walked over to her closet to change into her pajamas. After a few minutes, she stepped out in her light green nightgown and made her way to her bed. After saying good night to the Sakura cards, she said good night to her mother and set her alarm clock to 4:30 A.M.

Tomorrow was the first day of school and she didn't want to be late. Rolling onto her side, Sakura closed her emerald eyes and hoped for the sun to rise fast. She couldn't wait to see her friends and meet new people as well as start her eleventh grade year.


	2. Same and Different Beginning

**27 May 2006**

**A word from Starry:** Thank you to the person who reviewed! I'm glad you liked the first chapter. I hope you like this chapter as well. Please review and tell me what you think. Arigato!

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

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****Welcome Back Home**

**Chapter 2 – Same and Different Beginning**

"We need to find the prince and the princess before it's too late." A shadowed figure said to another in a small square room.

A grunt was heard from the second figure before he spoke. "The King doesn't really remember where they are, but he knows they are in the same world as he was." He slammed his fist on the table before looking up at the shadowed man. "He's counting on us! We can't let him down… we have to find both of them! We won't stop looking until we bring both of them back."

The shadowed man nodded affirmatively. "We'll have to send someone under cover to look for them."

"Whatever it takes, we have to find them." The man turned around, his cape flowing behind him, and walked out the room leaving the shadowed man alone.

"That means, I have to talk to that person…" He stood there for a few seconds before turning around and walking out of the room on the opposite side of where the other man had exited.

_**Kinomoto Residence**_

"Sakura! Sakura! Sakura! SAKURA!"

Sakura immediately sat up on her bed coming face to face with a yellow blob. Her green eyes widened and she screamed.

The yellow blob was blown out of her face and was sent flying towards the wall opposite of Sakura. There, he crashed and slid down the wall with a painful groan. "Sakura…"

Sakura rubbed her sleepy eyes and fixed her gaze on what had just crashed with the wall. "Kero-chan? What are you doing waking me up like that?" She moved her legs to the side of her bed and slowly got up. "That's what you get for not learning your lesson after all these years!" She stretched and as she was about to yawn, she eyed her clock over her bed and noticed that it read 6:15 A.M. "Huh? WHAT? I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" She ran into her closet and began rummaging for her school uniform.

Kero rubbed his bruised head and flew over to Sakura's bed. "That's what you get for making me crash with the wall when I was trying to wake you up!" He stopped rubbing his head and looked at Sakura who was trying to fit her head in her school shirt. "You didn't hear the alarm clock and I had to shut it off for you. Why don't you ever listen to it?"

"I don't know, I think I need to buy a new one." She finished putting on her left shoe before zipping up the side of her navy blue skirt.

"A new one?" Kero flew up to the side of Sakura's head. "No! This one is barely a month old and it's VERY loud and you never hear it. I don't want another one to be even louder!" He shook his head and rubbed it once more. "You have to bring me something for doing this to me."

"Kero-chan, you really are something…" Sakura finished brushing her short hair before tying two ribbons on each side of her head. She picked up a lit colored lip-gloss and applied it on her pink lips. "I'll bring you one of those big chocolate chip cookies that they sell during lunch." She smacked her lips together and smiled at her reflection. "All done! Now, I have to hurry downstairs and eat breakfast before I'm really late."

"Chocolate chip? AH! MMM! YES!" Kero fell on the bed and appeared to be in a dreamy state. "So yummy, very yummy! Cookies… mmm"

Sakura grabbed her backpack and swung it over her shoulder. Since nothing had happened for a long time, Sakura didn't take the cards with her. She did take the key though, it was always with her no matter what. She rolled her eyes at Kero before walking out of her room and down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Good morning!" She said, as she sat down in her seat.

"Good morning, Sakura. Sleep well?" Fujitaka asked, as he placed a plate in front of Sakura and his spot. He walked back into the kitchen and picked up a small box that was tied with another little box. "Here's your lunch." He placed it beside Sakura's breakfast before sitting down in his seat.

"Thanks, father." She smiled at him before putting her hands together in front of her. "Let's eat!"

Both Sakura and her father began eating the very delicious breakfast, and everything was going good until…

"Oh no! I'M GOING TO BE LATE!" Sakura shoved the rest of the food in her mouth before getting up and taking her plate to the sink. She swallowed what she had in her mouth and ran back to the table and picked up her lunch and stuffed it in her backpack. "That was delicious, but I'm going to be late! I have to go now. I'll see you in the afternoon! Bye!"

Fujitaka watched as his daughter bolted out of the kitchen and shook his head with a chuckle. His daughter hadn't changed at all, she was still the same Sakura-san.

**_Tomoeda High School_**

"Good morning!" Sakura said, as she walked into the classroom, trying to catch her breath. Boy, if it hadn't been for Kero, she would have still been sleeping.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naoko turned away from her friends and waved to Sakura who was now walking to a desk near the back.

"Sakura-chan, glad to see you again," Chiharu said, as she too waved at her friend.

Rika smiled at Sakura and nodded. "Morning."

All her friends were happy to see her, she knew that. Of course, she'd seen the girls the day before, but she hadn't gone with them when they went to the airport to pick up Naoko's cousin who was coming from Hawaii. She hadn't felt like going and welcoming someone else, the day before. It was best if she went home and just 'got things ready'.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked up from what she was doing, which was taking her notebook out, and looked up to see Yamazaki's smiling face a few inches from hers.

"How was your break, Yamazaki-kun?" Sakura asked, taking out her pencils and placing them beside her notebook.

"It was excellent. I went to the United States and saw an alien! Though, it was a cat, but it had weird ears and didn't meow correctly…"

Sakura's eyes widened and she only nodded, continuing to listen to her friend talk. He always had interesting things to say, and most of the time, Sakura believed them. That is until Chiharu pulled him away by the ear.

"Hai, Hai, Yamazaki! Why do you keep doing that? We're in our eleventh year and you still continue to lie!" Chiharu shook her head and didn't let go of him until they reached their seats in the front of the class.

Sakura stared at them and slumped on her desk. It had been a lie again! She was glad it was, she didn't want cats to be aliens who ate people for lunch.

"Sakura!"

The auburn haired girl turned her attention to the doors and a big smile appeared on her face as she saw her best friend, Tomoyo walking in with a bag.

"Tomoyo!" She got up from her desk and met up with her friend halfway. "What do you have in your bag?" she asked, curiosity rising inside of her.

Tomoyo smiled at Sakura and giggled. "You're just going to love it! I bought that new shiny material that they had on sale and made you an outfit." She looked at her friend with an even bigger smile. "We must try it on today after school, please?"

Sakura sweat dropped and stared at her friend before blinking. "S-sure Tomoyo, anything for you." Sakura knew how much Tomoyo loved to make her outfits and dress her up, but at times, Sakura wished her friend wouldn't be THAT enthusiastic.

"Alright, everyone to your seats! Class is about to start."

Everyone ran to their seats and sat down, putting their full attention to their teacher.

"Welcome to 11-2, I will be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year. My name is Miss November." A few giggles and laughs were heard. Miss November glared at them before her face softened up. "Yes, I know it's a month but well, blame my ancestors for having a surname like that! Alright, I won't allow horsing around, but I'm not mean…"

Sakura's mind began to drift off as Miss November continued talking. Another year, and only one more year before she was out and off to college. She really wanted to stay in Japan for her education, but after talking to Yukito over the phone, going to college in England didn't sound so bad. She could start a new life with her friends, the Sakura cards, and see where life took her afterwards.

Would she meet anyone who gave her warm and fuzzy feelings in her stomach like _he_ had? Sakura's gaze moved to the window and spotted her elementary yard filled with little children running around. A small smile appeared on her face as she remembered herself playing in that yard for six years. That was the fence where she always talked to Yukito and her older brother. Ah, the memories. She loved to remember, especially the memories that had taken place in both her fourth and fifth years, as well as her sixth year in school.

"Miss Kinomoto, please raise your hand-"

Now, she was on the other side of the fence and new memories were being made. Except, the new memories didn't contain a particular, and that was someone who Sakura really did want to include in the new memories. She felt her heart beat slow down a bit, and a small voice in her head told her to stop thinking about him. She mentally nodded and pushed him out of her thoughts. It was better this way, to push him away from her memories.

"MISS KINOMOTO PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND!"

Sakura was pulled out of her reverie, making her attention go to her teacher who was glaring at her. She slid down her seat a bit and tried to hide the redness of her face from everyone. She heard a few laughs and giggles that were directed towards her, that made her blush even more. Great way to start the new year, she thought.

Miss November stomped all the way to Sakura's side and shook her head in disappointment. "Do I really have to come all they way over here and tell you to raise your hand?" She tapped her right foot, pretty loudly.

Everyone was silently watching as the teacher glared at Sakura, who was wishing for the ground to swallow her up.

"Err, no?" she meekly said, looking up into her teachers blue eyes.

Miss November sighed with frustration and grabbed Sakura's right hand and lifted it up. "Now, Mister Felton please take your seat behind Miss Kinomoto."

"Huh?" Sakura looked to the front of the room and saw a tall and lanky boy with blonde hair and blue eyes slowly walking towards her. It was evident that this boy was new to both the school and Japan.

"This will be your seat for the rest of the school year, I do not want anyone to trade seats or move your desk even an inch!" Miss November said, as she walked back to the front of the classroom.

Sakura let out a breath she had been holding in and tried to whisper something to Tomoyo, just like she always did in every grade when…

"Miss Kinomoto! I will now allow any whispering in my class!" She shook a semi-pudgy finger at the emerald eyed girl. "You are starting the year in the wrong foot and I do not like that! If you try to whisper to Miss Daidoiji once more, I shall move you!" She turned around and faced the board once more and began writing the lesson plan for class.

Tomoyo gave Sakura and apologetic look. Sakura nodded and faced the front, where Miss November was now explaining the beginning of the year project. Sakura had always looked forward to this project, but it seemed like this year it wasn't going to be fun. Miss November was pretty with her short red hair and blue eyes and thin frame, but her attitude was just ugly!

"Now, I will be calling role call. When I say your name, please let me now that you are here." She cleared her throat and began reading off names.

"Asoka, Lunamaria?"

"Hai!"

"Athha, Yulan"

"Hai!"

"Daidoiji, Tomoyo"

"Hai"

Sakura looked at each of her classmates when they answered. Most of them she'd known since she was in grade school, but others had arrived during ninth year or the previous year and even eighth year. Still, they had all grown to like Sakura and she had liked them back.

"Felton, David"

"Here"

Sakura turned around and looked at the boy sitting behind her. That was definitely not a Japanese name and his accent was English. Immediately, Eriol popped into her head and more memories surged through her head.

"Kinomoto, Sakura"

Turning to look at her teacher, Sakura sat up straight in her chair. "Hai!" She looked at Miss November with a serious look and her voice was strong and loud.

Miss November nodded and proceeded in reading out the names.

Everyone's attention went to the other student whose name had just been called. Sakura wiped her brow and breathed a sigh of relief. This new teacher was going to be a tough one, she thought, looking down at her notebook. Her mind was about to drift off again when she heard a familiar name and voice.

"Li, Syaoron"

"Hai"


	3. A Troubled Heart

**27 May 2006**

**A word from Starry: **Yeah, I'm updating... _again_, but my writing fairy hasn't stopped poking me. She tells me I have to continue writing this story, because if I stop, the idea might fade away and it'll be hard for me to see it clearly once school starts. Reason why I'm updating again. Thanks to the person who reviewed the second chapter! Glad you liked it, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Please review when you're done and tell me what you thought of this chapter. Arigato!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Period.

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**Welcome Back Home**

**Chapter 3 – A Troubled Heart**

Sakura couldn't stop staring at him, it was really him. It was Syaoron-kun! She expected her heart to be pounding out of her chest, but was saddened to find that it was normally beating and that a feeling she had felt before wasn't present at the moment. She looked away from him and fixed her gaze on her notebook. Could it have possibly died during their time of separation?

"Sakura?"

The card mistress looked up and was glad that it was Tomoyo. If it would have been him… well she was very glad it was Tomoyo.

"Sakura, I haven't seen you go over there and say hi to Li-kun." Tomoyo sat down beside her friend, tucking her legs beneath her and dusting off her school skirt. "It's been a week already and you haven't said anything to him. Are you planning to just continue this?"

"I- I-"

"Miss Kinomoto, Miss Daidoiji, could I join you?"

Sakura and Tomoyo both turned to glance up at David, who was smiling at them and had a bag in his hand. Over the week, David had begun talking to both Sakura and Tomoyo due to the reason that they were the only ones he sat beside with and had talked to him first.

"Hai," said Tomoyo, patting a spot beside her on the green grass.

Before turning her focus on David, Sakura noticed that Syaoron seemed to have been looking over at their direction. She wasn't sure if he had, but she wasn't going to look back and find out if he was.

"Thanks, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't know you girls." He smiled at them before taking out his lunch. "I hope I'm not bothering you."

Shaking her head, Sakura said, "No, you weren't bothering us, and I'm glad to know you as well David-kun." She too took out her lunch and waited for Tomoyo to do the same before beginning to eat.

A few minutes of silence was between the three teenagers when David stopped eating and peeked over Sakura's shoulder.

This took Sakura by surprise and she stopped eating and glanced over at Tomoyo before focusing back on David. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, wondering if she had some kind of stain on her face.

"Huh? Oh, no it's just that Li-kun keeps staring over here and every time I make eye contact with him, he glares at me."

It seemed as though someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on Sakura, because she froze and her green eyes widened. Syaoron was glaring at David? Why? David was a nice guy and he had not right in glaring at him! Then she remembered how Syaoron would glare at her and be mean to her back in her fourth grade. "That's just the way he is, I guess," she said, her body no longer frozen and her eyes back to normal.

"I see," was all David said before going back to his food.

"Sakura, are you coming over to my house today?" Tomoyo asked, a smile on her face. "I finished the dress I told you I was going to make."

Did she have any chores to do today? Sakura begin to think and remember if she did. She came up with a no. "Sure, after school we'll go to your house." Ah! Another dress, she thought, she smiled at her best friend and shook her head slightly. She loved Tomoyo, so even though she had about a million dresses and outfits, she wasn't going to be getting tired of them anytime soon.

"You make dresses?" asked David.

"Hai, but only to Sakura, because she needs to look cute for everything… though, she's always cute with or without my outfits." She turned to face Sakura and smiled at her once more. "She's just naturally cute!"

Sakura sweat dropped and tried to laugh, but a weird noise came out from her mouth. She covered her mouth with her hands and blushed, because David was looking at her with a weird expression. "Sorry about that," she lowered her hands and began putting her things away.

Man, this is embarrassing! She thought as she put her chopsticks and containers in her backpack.

Right when Sakura was going to get up, Chiharu came running towards them with a smile on her face.

"Tomoyo-chan! Guess what?" she said, stopping right next to Tomoyo. "You're going to be singing in the project!"

Tomoyo's face lit and she lifted her hands up to her chest. "Really?" It was evident she was really excited and happy.

Sakura knew how much singing meant to her friend, and she also knew that Tomoyo had the best singing voice in all of their school. She watched her friend and studied her as she spoke with Chiharu. Tomoyo had changed a bit throughout the years. Her hair was very long and it was still black, usually in a long braid or loose with two strands cradling her face. She had grown taller and was an inch taller than Sakura. She, on the other hand still had her short auburn hair (which she tied ribbons in, _still_) and was thin.

"Sakura, I have to go. Miss November wants me in the music room, but I'll be waiting for you at the school doors, alright?" Tomoyo gathered her things up and swung her backpack over her shoulder.

Sakura nodded and she too did the same as Tomoyo. "Okay, I'll see you later then." She noticed David still sitting on the grass. Was he going to stay?

As if reading her mind, he looked up at her and shook his head. He gathered his things and got up, dusting his legs off. "Are you going to the classroom right now?"

"Yeah, I am. Want to go with me?"

David's gaze moved to someone behind her before shaking his head. "Nah, it's okay. I think I'll see if I can find Yamazaki-kun and just talk about cats being aliens."

At this, Sakura froze and let out a noise that showed she was scared. She nodded at David before turning around and hurriedly walking towards the inside of the school.

As she walked into the classroom, she couldn't help but let her mind wander off to certain events. Syaoron glaring at David? It couldn't possibly be because he still had feelings for her, because if he had feelings for her he would have contacted her through the past five years.

She reached her desk and sat down on it, not caring that her backpack had fallen and a few of her things had scattered around her desk.

Did she still have feelings for him? She hadn't felt her heart want to jump out of her chest when she first saw him. And she still could not believe that she had not seen him when she'd first come into the classroom the first day of school. She really was in the clouds too much. Everyone always told her that she pondered and let her mind wander off too much. But that had been the only thing that had kept her from losing her mind to that lonesome feeling her heart had been feeling after _he _left. In her thoughts, she could escape and build her own little world where the things SHE said could happen. Thanks to those thoughts, she had learned how to shut out the feelings that hurt the most.

A noise somewhere in her right pulled her out of her thoughts, making her realize that she was no longer alone. She searched the room to see who had come in, and when she noticed who it was, she felt like someone had thrown cold water on her, again.

"Syaoron-kun," she said, not really meaning to.

He turned to her and cast his eyes to the floor for a bit before looking back up at her with his brown eyes. "S-S-Sakura-chan," he said, his voice sounding like it had been a while since he spoke.

"Wow," was all that came out of her mouth. Realizing that she probably sounded stupid, she straightened up in her seat and said, "You're back."

Syaoron nodded. "I've been back for over a month now." An emotion passed through his eyes, but Sakura couldn't tell what it was. Had it been sadness or regret?

A month? Sakura felt as a pang of hurt ran into her chest. A month in Japan and he hadn't bothered to tell her he was back. "I see. Are you going to be staying here in Japan?" she asked, not really knowing why she wanted to know his answer.

He nodded slowly, a few strands of his brown hair falling in front of his eyes. He brushed them away, before getting up and walking towards Sakura.

Some kind of weird alarm went off in her brain and she immediately got up and walked backwards into the wall. What was happening? Why was she running away from him? Why was he walking towards her?

"Sakura-chan, I-"

"Sakura-chan, you left your lunch container-" David stopped in his tracks when he saw Syaoron and Sakura. "Oh, sorry."

Sakura felt as though she could breathe once more. She took a step away from both the wall and Syaoron and walked over to David. "Thank you," she said, giving the English boy a smile. She turned back to walk to her seat and noticed that Syaoron was still standing in the same spot before David had walked in.

She cautiously walked to her desk and was about to put her container in her backpack when she noticed her things had fallen over. "Great," she mumbled, as she kneeled down and began picking up her things.

As Sakura went to grab her pencil, a hand landed over hers, making her glance up to the hands owner. When she realized whose hand it was, she blushed a deep red but didn't pull her hand away. There it was, that feeling. The feeling she hadn't felt in a VERY long time, it was beating… slowly…

Could it be that it was returning? No, it couldn't return, she'd make sure to shut it out. It was unwelcome after so long of not knowing about him. It was a forbidden feeling that Sakura had said she never wanted to feel with him. Yet, there it was, slowly growing in her chest, beating.

And right when she was going to say something to Syaoron, she felt two hands on her shoulder and a painful stab was felt in her chest, where that feeling was beating to life. She pulled her hand away from Syaoron's and clutched at her chest, that was hurting like hell! She closed her eyes and continued to try and see if she could grasp that pain and pull it out.

"Sakura!" Syaoron got closer to her and tried to see what was wrong with her. He glared up at David who was holding onto her shoulders. "Let go of her!" he yelled, pulling Sakura away from him. "Let her go!"

When David let go, Syaoron pulled Sakura into a tight embrace. He looked down into her pained face and felt himself as an idiot for doing what he had done to her. She had every right to be mad with him, he understood why it had taken her a week to finally say anything to him.

'_Syaoron! Can I keep him?"_

"_Hai"_

The pain her chest subsided and she felt as though she could breathe once more. She slowly opened her eyes, and what she saw first made her feel as though her heart had stopped.

"Syaoron-kun," her voice was hoarse as she said this.

"Shh, don't say anything." He wanted to stay like that for a while, but Sakura began to sit up. He helped her stand and sit in her desk. He wanted to know what had caused that, but he didn't want to stop staring at her.

Sakura gazed at Syaoron and couldn't smile. She wanted to, but she couldn't. She closed her eyes and tried to remember that vision she had seen in her head when that pain was going at it in her chest. The vision had been blurry but she made out two figures, standing in front of each other. It had been when the sun was going down, but she couldn't tell who they were. Of course, with just the name she knew one of them was Syaoron, but the other person she didn't see.

"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?"

She looked up at the voice and saw a worried David standing beside her. Was he the one who'd touched her shoulders? "Hai, I'm alright. Just a little out of breath…"

David gave her gloomy look before walking off towards the window and opening it. "I hope it gets better," he said, his voice full of concern.

"Thank you," she said, a small distressing smile. She turned to Syaoron who still looked concerned. "Thank you, Syaoron-kun." Her smile became a bit bigger than the one she had given David, but she didn't seem to notice.

There it is, she thought, that feeling… it's getting stronger…

_**An Abandoned House**_

"Well? Any luck in finding them?" asked the man who had given the orders to the shadowed figure a few days before.

The shadowed figure ran a hand through his hair before replying. "We haven't found the ones we're looking for, but… I found a princess from another world. I hear she's being searched for as well."

The other man sighed and you could tell he wasn't completely at ease, but he was relaxed a bit. "Good, we'll be taking that princess, too. We'll return her to her world and help out her kingdom. But, we still have to find the prince and princess before time runs out! Keep looking."

The shadowed figure nodded before turning around and leaving.

"I'm sure the other princess is somewhere near the first princess, she has to be! And the prince? He has to be close too." He slammed his fist on the table, and shook his head in disappointment.


	4. First Victim

**31 May 2006**

**A word from Starry: **Another update! Well, I feel rather silly seeing as I had spelled Syaoran's name wrong as well as Tomoyo's surname! Silly me! Well, I've fixed it now, but I guess I'll have to re-upload the previous chapters and fix them. Thank you to the person who reviewed! I hope you continue to enjoy the fic. Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! The fun is just beginning...

**Disclaimer: **I'm not CLAMP.

* * *

**Welcome Back Home**

**Chapter 4 – First Victim**

"So when he touched you, you felt as though someone was squeezing your heart?" Kero flew up, staring intently at Sakura, who was lying down on the bed in her pajamas.

After the incident in the classroom, Sakura stayed in her seat and didn't talk to anyone. After class had ended, she ran out of the classroom and went straight to the music room where Tomoyo was practicing. She had apologized for interrupting and told her what had happened. Understanding, Tomoyo said it was best if Sakura went home to rest, and Sakura was thankful for that.

Sakura nodded. "It was a very painful feeling, I felt like my heart was going to be ripped out." Her expression showed that indeed it had been grief for her. "Then, Syaoran-kun pulled me away I had a small vision and my pain was gone." She cast her emerald pools up at Kero looked at him with a confused expression. "I didn't sense anything, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a Clow card."

"Hmm," Kero flew down to Sakura's desk and took out the Sakura cards. All of them flew out and surrounded Sakura. He looked back at her and began to see if he could figure out what had happened. He noticed… the expression on Sakura's face. She looked so happy being surrounded by her friends, a rare happiness that she had shut away during the years. Perhaps it was all thanks to the return of Syaoran, right?

"What is it, Kero-chan?"

Her question brought him out of his thoughts, making him shake his head. "Nothing, I'm just thinking about what you told me." He flew down beside the card mistress and patted her hand. "I think it's time for you to be carrying the Sakura cards once more, Sakura. It's for your protection as well as the protection of others."

"I know, I was thinking the same thing." She glanced up and looked at her cards. A smile formed in her face making her hold out her hand. The cards, one by one, stacked each other on her hand with a pink glow surrounding them. "It'll be fun, again."

_**Next Day, On the Way to School**_

Sakura rode her bike through the same familiar way she had been taking to school since she was in grade school. Passing by Yukito's house, a smile appeared on her face and the feeling of missing someone came into her chest. She really couldn't wait for winter break, when she would see Yukito, her big brother and Yue.

She had already started making plans on what she was going to do during that break. She would cook the dinner on Christmas night and invite everyone that included: Aunt Sonomi, Tomoyo, Yukito, David and Syaoran. She felt heat rise up her neck as she pictured Syaoran in her house once more.

"Syaoran-kun," she whispered, feeling that feeling beating once more. This time, it didn't last long, because she suddenly felt a presence, a strange presence… and the beating stopped, followed by that throbbing pain.

She fell off her bike and clutched her chest to keep it from hurting even more. No use, it was hurting like hell! If she didn't do anything, her heart would probably be ripped out. In that instance, she remembered that she had her cards. Hoping she had enough strength to get her key out, she gripped the star key and closed her eyes.

Everything turned black and Sakura's magic circle appeared beneath her. She opened her jade colored eyes and began to chant what she always did. "The key which holds the power of the stars! Appear before me in your true form… I, Sakura, command it under our contract… RELEASE!" Her key turned into the Star Wand, at this, Sakura got out one of her cards and threw it up in the air. "Protect me from the unknown power, SHIELD!"

A clear bubble appeared around Sakura, shunning out all magic and everything that was harmful.

"_It's so cute!"_

"_Yeah,"_

"_Syaoran, can I keep him?"_

"_Hai"_

"_I'll take really good care of him."_

The pain rapidly disappeared leaving Sakura standing in the middle of SHIELD holding the Star Wand. She looked around, trying to see if she could spot anyone or anything that was the culprit in all of this. No luck, she was the only person there.

After putting SHIELD back in card form, Sakura took a step to pick up her bike, but winced when she felt pain jolt up from her leg. She looked down and noticed a trail of blood running down her left leg from a big scrape on her knee.

"Great," she mumbled, getting her backpack and taking out a small tissue box. She grabbed two tissues and began dabbing her knee with them. Why didn't she carry a first aid kit? And why she getting attacked like that? And WHO was with Syaoran in that vision?

_**Tomoeda High School**_

"Good morning." Sakura walked, limping mostly, in the classroom and greeted everyone. She slowly made her way to her desk and hoped that no one noticed her injury.

"Sakura!"

Too late.

"What happened, Sakura?" Tomoyo kneeled down and began to inspect Sakura's knee injury.

Turning a bit shades of red, Sakura shook her head and patted Tomoyo's hand away. "I had a clumsy moment on my bike." She didn't want to worry Tomoyo by telling her that she'd been kind of attacked on her way to school.

Tomoyo looked at her intently and unnervingly shook her head. "I don't believe you." Her dark eyes boring into Sakura's bottle green eyes.

Sighing and slumping her shoulders, Sakura covered her face with her hands and slightly shrugged. Uncovering her face, she looked around the classroom and noticed everyone else was chatting away. She turned her attention to Tomoyo and indicated for her best friend to come closer.

Tomoyo leaned in and waited for Sakura to tell her the truth about her scraped knee.

"While riding my bike to school, I felt that pain in my chest again and I used the SHIELD card to protect me from it and well, before all that I feel due to the surprise of the attack."

"Sakura! Then that means-"

"I know, I'm going to start using the Sakura cards again. I have to figure out who's doing this to me-"

"No! It means I'll be able to film you with the new outfits I've created for you!" Tomoyo's face was adorned with a dreamy and beautiful smile. Stars could be seen in her eyes, as she clasped her hands and cupped her face.

"Eh?" Sakura banged her head on the desk and laughed a bit. "T-T-Tomoyo…" Yep, Tomoyo was still the same.

"Have you told Li-kun about this?"

Shaking her head, Sakura bit the inside of her cheek; she'd been pondering on whether to tell him or not. It wouldn't be the same working with Syaoran after what had happened between them. BUT, what had happened? They had just confessed their feelings for each other, and then just like that, Syaoran had left to Hong Kong and hadn't returned any kind of sign that he was still interested in her. Should she tell him?

"Told me about what?"

Startled, Sakura jumped up from her seat. "Hooee!" She grasped the sides of her desk and looked up to see Syaoran standing there, beside them.

"Li-kun, we didn't know you were there." Tomoyo smiled at him and patted the desk beside them. "Sit."

Syaoran nodded and thanked her before taking the seat that the black haired girl had indicated. He moved his brown gaze towards Sakura. "Tell me about what?" His voice sounded concerned and very serious.

"Err, well, I… um-"

"Sakura was attacked this morning and she had to use a Sakura card. She hasn't used them for five years."

"Tomoyo!" Sakura briefly glared at her friend before her gaze softened. "It was not an attack… it was the same thing that happened yesterday." She fidgeted with her fingers as she turned her green eyes up at Syaoran.

"Hmm," Syaoran studied Sakura and looked like he was choosing what to say. "Be careful." His voice was set into a serious tone along with his facial expression. "When this happens again, call me, please."

Sakura was taken by back this, she stared at Syaoran and nodded. "Alright, I'll let you know." She suddenly felt like they were back in the old days. Ah, the wonderful old days… before their confessions…

"Kinomoto, Sakura?"

She turned her body and her attention towards the person who had just addressed her. "Hai?" It was Miss November, her face set into a sad one.

"Could you please come out in the hall with me? Your father is here to speak with you."

Sakura did not like the tone of voice that she was talking in. Why would her father be here at school? That only happened unless there was an emergency. She nodded and immediately got up, leaving her thing behind. As she walked to the front of the classroom, murmurs began to fill the room and people began to wonder what was happening with Sakura.

Tomoyo and Syaoran looked at each other with concerned expressions before turning to look at their friend who had just stepped out of the classroom.

Out in the hall, Sakura found her father staring out the corridor window. She noticed that his hands were gripping the window sill and that his eyes were glazed, as though he wanted to cry.

"Father," she said, as she walked to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Fujitaka looked down at his daughter and tried to force a smile, but it only made his appearance seem as though he wanted to cry. In an instance, he picked up his daughter and embraced her tight.

What's happening? Sakura thought, as she hugged her father back. She rested her chin on his shoulder blade and didn't care if her fellow classmates saw her hugging her dad, right now, this was important.

"What happened, father?"

"Sakura," he began, his voice evident that it wanted to break. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Your brother, Touya… is missing."

Sakura lifted her head up and stared at her father with a terrified expression. Her brother… missing? "What? What do you mean? Who told you this? What happened?" Sakura blurted all of this out, as her father let her down once more.

"Yukito-san called me earlier today and told me that Touya was taken by a group of men wearing black cloaks." His voice broke a bit, but he managed to compose himself before letting the tears fall.

Sakura on the other hand couldn't hold them back. Her green gaze became pools of tears letting a few tears trickle down her cheeks. "Oniichan!" She threw herself at her father and buried her face in his stomach and broke down.

Fujitaka began to comfort his daughter, and was about to say something when Miss November, who was standing there the whole time, broke in.

"Mister Kinomoto, if you wish you and Miss Kinomoto could go into the room next door and discuss this in private." She patted Sakura on the back and began to rub it lightly.

Sakura's father nodded and led his crying daughter to the room that the young teacher had indicated. Once inside, Sakura didn't stop crying and her father too broke down.

Memories of her big brother ran through Sakura's head as well as thoughts of what he was probably suffering. The latter thoughts made her cry even more, but she had to force herself to stop thinking those things, she needed to look in the brighter side. What if it was just some kind of project or something? Yes, Touya couldn't be missing, he was Touya her older brother.

"Yukito-san has requested search parties and has reported the police in England. They'll be doing searches through the cities for him, Sakura. I've also sent this to the police headquarters here in Tomoeda as well as neighboring cities. I'm sure he'll be found, I'm sure." He hugged Sakura tight and kissed her on the top of her head.

She didn't know what to do or say, except cry and hope that her brother was okay. She clinged to her father even tighter and asked him to take her home. He nodded and proceeded in telling Miss November that Sakura was going to be pulled out of school for the remainder of the week. Miss November understood and assigned Tomoyo to carry Sakura's things out into the room where the Kinomoto's were in.

Upon entering, Tomoyo ran and hugged her best friend and began to comfort her as she cried as well. Through the years, she'd grown to love Touya as an older brother as well. The two girls stayed in an embrace for a while, before Fujitaka said it was time to go. Sakura nodded and said farewell to Tomoyo, who said was going to drop by after school.

_**Kinomoto Residence**_

"Sakura, get the door please?" cried the voice of Mister Kinomoto from the kitchen. He was on the phone talking to Yukito about what had happened earlier in the day.

Dragging her feet, Sakura walked over to the door and opened it, surprised… well half surprised at the visitors.

"Tomoyo… Syaoran-kun," Her voice as well as her puffy eyes showed that she'd been crying for a while. "Come in."

The two teenagers nodded and walked in, before taking off their shoes and walking into the small living room in the Kinomoto house.

"Any news?" asked Syaoran, who sat next to Sakura on the couch.

The green eyed girl shook her head. "No, but they're still searching. They say it was probably a gang kidnapping, but they don't know yet."

"Oh, Sakura! I'm sure he'll be found I can feel it."

"Thanks, Tomoyo."

"I would have left the school with you if Miss November hadn't kept me in my seat." Syaoran scowled at the mention of the teacher's name. "I really wanted be there for you," he said, turning away to hide the blush that was creeping into his cheeks.

A small smile appeared on Sakura's face and her right hand went and took Syaoran's left one. "I'm thankful that you're here, Syaoran-kun." That feeling was starting again… it was beating slowly, but Sakura could tell it was getting stronger.

Tomoyo smiled at the two of them and was glad that Syaoran was there for Sakura. Right now, Sakura needed all the comfort she could get.

"I'll stay with you until it's late."

Syaoran nodded, letting them know that he was doing the same. "I will too."

Sakura looked up at her friend and nodded. "Thank you, you guys are the best."

_**An Abandoned House**_

"Things go well?"

The shadowed figure nodded. "Yes, I still can't believe he was under our noses all along."

"Well we'll be thanking the Europe group for doing their searches in their areas." The man sitting in the seat cleared his throat and a smile appeared on his half shadowed face. "I feel that we have a few people here that we need."

"Yes, a princess is here and I'm sure the one we're looking for is right there as well."

"We have to find the girl with the Clow cards, then, that will lead us to the princess. And finally, our job will be done and everything will be back to normal."

"Yes," said the shadowed figure as it bowed down. "Anything else?"

The man sitting down nodded. "Yes, finish the job right now, we can't have people worrying about the missing person. Finish it, NOW."

"Yes, sir." And with that, the shadowed figure walked out of the darkened room.


	5. Missing

2 June 2006

**A word from Starry: **Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad people are liking this story, I'm enjoying writing it. I'm updating once more and happy to say that Chapter six will be up sometime next week or perhaps even before the weekend ends. Now, let's continue with the story! Enjoy! Please review and tell me what you thought. Arigatou!

**Disclaimer: **Not CLAMP.

* * *

**Welcome Back Home**

**Chapter 5 – Missing**

"Sakura! Sakura! SAKURA!"

In a rapid movement, Sakura sat up on her bed, her sleepy eyes widening. She saw a big yellow thing in front of her. She raised her hand and when she swung her arm at it, it moved, making her get scared and scream.

When her vision became much clearer, Sakura looked around for what had caused her to get scared. She noticed Kero flying around her head in circles. She narrowed her eyes at her friend and lifted her right hand and swatted him away.

"Don't do that, Kero-chan!" she said, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed.

"He He, Sakura, you didn't make me fly towards the wall! I evaded your hand!" Kero crossed his arms over his little chest and gave her a smirk. "No bump on my head this morning!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she walked into her closet and began getting her uniform out. She didn't know why, but her eyes felt heavy and puffy, and her throat was sore. It seemed like she'd been crying the night before.

"So what is your project this year?" asked Kero, who flew over to Sakura's desk and sat down. "Oh! And, did you figure anything out about the attack of yesterday?"

Right, she'd been attacked while on her way to school the day before. She looked down at her knee and noticed the scrape was now growing a scab on it. She put on her school shirt and once she got her head through, she shook her head.

"No, Tomoyo and Syaoran-kun are going to help me find out who is doing this." She put on her skirt and zipped it up. After finishing with her skirt, she got on her knees and began searching for her school shoes. Finding them, she ran to her drawer and got her socks out.

"I've been searching as well, you know?" He scratched the top of his head. "I haven't felt any kind of presence at all. Not even in that area where you got attacked."

Sakura tied her shoe laces and got up, dusting herself. She was worried about the same event happening today while going to school. Of course, she had her Sakura cards with her, so she felt a bit more at ease.

"Our project will be a school dance." A bit of nervousness could be heard in her voice, but Kero decided to ignore it. "The theme is, Night under the Stars." She turned to Kero and smiled. "How do I look?"

Kero regarded Sakura and shrugged. "A dance? Hmm, sounds like a bore. You look like your usual self, Sakura."

The light brown haired girl rolled her eyes and right when she picked her backpack and swung it, it hit Kero making him fly out and crash with the wall.

"Kero-chan! Are you alright?" Sakura ran to her friend and kneeled beside him. "I'm so sorry!"

Kero steadied the spinning of his head and rubbed at his head. "Sakura!"

Sakura sweat dropped and got up, dusting herself again. "Sorry, about that, Kero-chan! I'll see you after school. Bye!" She zoomed out of her room, leaving an angry and hurting Kero behind.

"Good morning, Father."

"Good morning, Sakura-san. Breakfast is ready." Fujitaka placed a plate in front of her and walked back to get his own plate.

As Sakura sat on her chair, she felt as though something was missing. She looked up at the board where they wrote what they were doing during the day and noticed that it was the same as always. Just her father's and her name were written. Beside her father's name, it said, 'Presentation today. Will be home late.' And besides Sakura's name, it said, 'Chores.'

"What is it?" asked her father, as he began to eat.

"Huh? Oh! Well, it feels like something's missing." She took a bite out of her morning rice ball and continued looking around the house. "Except, I can't find what's missing."

Fujitaka gave her a concerned look, before it changed into a surprised one. "That's exactly how I've been feeling all morning." He put his chopsticks down and he too began to look around. "It's as though something is supposed to be here, but I think it's because we're tired." It seemed as though that satisfied him, because he picked up his eating utensils and began eating again.

The girls green gaze was kept on her father as he ate, letting what he had said sink in. Yes, maybe the reason why it felt like that was because they were tired. She too was satisfied with that and began to eat once more.

_**Tomoeda High School**_

"Good morning, everybody!" Sakura walked into the classroom and made her way to her seat. The class was empty except for Tomoyo and David and Miss November. She stopped in her tracks and tried to see if she forgot any events this morning. Why wasn't anyone here? Class was about to begin in five minutes!

"Good morning, Sakura-chan." David waved at her and smiled.

"Good morning, Sakura," said Tomoyo, who rushed to her and hugged her. "We were waiting for you! We couldn't leave without you, or Li-kun, so we still have to wait for him."

"Wait?" Wait for what? Thought Sakura, as she returned her best friends hug.

"Yes, Miss Kinomoto, wait for you and Mister Li. Our project was pushed to this weekend-"

"WHAT?" Sakura stepped out of Tomoyo's embrace and stared at her teacher with shocked eyes. "That's too soon! We still need to get a lot of props and supplies…"

"I know, that is why I asked for everyone to go into town and finish getting the things together so we can start getting the park Gymnasium ready for the dance." Miss November gave her a serious look and a shake of her head.

"Good morning."

Everyone turned around to face the person who had just spoken. Syaoran walked in, stopping a while after noticing that only four people were in room. "No school today?" he asked, looking at Sakura.

Miss November got up from her desk and explained to Syaoran what had happened. Syaoran looked over at Tomoyo and then to Sakura.

"You're kidding right? This weekend? Isn't that a bit too soon?"

"Exactly! That's what I think, too. I don't think we'll be able to get the supplies this soon." Sakura crossed her arms over chest and looked back at Miss November.

"Why are we being so negative? I'm sure if we all have positive attitudes, the dance will be ready for Saturday." David smiled at all of them, but his smile grew even more when he looked at Sakura.

Sakura blushed a bit and moved her gaze to Miss November, who walked around her desk and patted David on the back.

"That's more like it! Now why can't we all have Mister Felton's attitude? Eh?"

"Because he's an idiot…" mumbled Syaoran really low.

"What was that Mister Li?"

Syaoran jumped and sweat dropped, scratching the back of his head. "Uh, nothing."

Tomoyo giggled and covered her mouth while Sakura glanced from Syaoran to David and back to Syaoran.

"So shall we go?"

The juniors nodded and followed their teacher out of the classroom and school. Once outside, Miss November told them to go and shop for the needed supplies that were in the list she handed them. After that, Miss November left followed by David who had hesitated to leave.

"I don't like Felton-kun at all," said Syaoran, as he walked beside the girls.

"Why not? He's a nice boy." Sakura smiled at the thought of David and quickly took off that expression when she noticed Syaoran glaring at her.

Tomoyo giggled again and shook her head. "This reminds me of fifth grade."

"Why?"

Sakura quickly looked away from her friends and felt herself blushing. Fifth grade had been when Syaoran had been acting funny because he liked her and she'd been too dense to notice it.

"Answer me, Daidouji-chan."

"I don't know, it just does." The raven haired girl said, with a smile on her doll-like face. "I love remembering those days…"

Tomoyo's voice faded as Sakura continued to walk and began to remember a few things. Had it really been five years? Time really did fly by, she still remembered the day when she stumbled across the Clow book and let the Clow cards escape. A smile appeared on her face as the memories of catching Clow cards reappeared in her mind. It had been a while since she had remembered those events.

"Sakura?"

If she hadn't been cleaning her father's study, she would have never found that book. Well, it was her turn to do the chores, right? She stopped walking and her emerald eyes widened. She always did the chores… so why did she remember that it was HER turn? A vision came into her head that instant. It was of Sakura standing in front of that white board, except it had three names on it. She recognized her name and her father's, but who was the third one? _Tou_-

"SAKURA!"

Sakura came back to reality and focused her attention on Syaoran, who was right in front of her. She noticed their proximity and blushed a deep shade of red. "S-S-Sorry, I dozed off." She bit the inside of her cheek and took a step back.

"I said, Yukito-san is over there and he's waving at you." Syaoran stepped aside to let her see the silver haired boy that was running towards them.

Tomoyo clasped her hands and immediately got her camcorder out. "I thought you said Mister Tsukishiro was coming over for Winter break?"

"Yeah, he was, but I don't know why he's here early. I think something happened," she said, as she walked towards Yukito.

Syaoran followed alongside Tomoyo, his gaze on the card mistress. She was so beautiful, yet he was stupid for not contacting her for the last five years. He'd only been following orders though… His mother had told him to not contact Sakura because if he did, he would ruin something that was to happen to her, something special.

"Yukito-san! I'm very happy to see you." Sakura embraced her old crush and blushed when she thought of giving him a kiss on the cheek. No, she couldn't do that, she'd turn bright red and Syaoran was here.

"Sakura-chan," Yukito said, returning the embrace and giving her a peck on the cheek. His focus went to Syaoran and Tomoyo. "Hello there, nice to see all of you." His smile was as sweet as ever. "My, you've grown!" He mentioned to Syaoran. "Last time I saw you, you were very small! Now, you're almost my height."

Syaoran nodded, a little pink hue visible on his cheeks. "Everyone else has grown too."

"I know, I can see that!" Yukito was always cheerful, and that was something Sakura liked.

"What brings you here so soon? I thought you were going to come until Winter break." Sakura was curious to see why he was here. Did something happen to him? His family?

Yukito's smile faded and a soft light was seen in his eyes, but it quickly vanished. "I don't know, I had a dream last night and it was calling me home."

"Calling you home?" asked Sakura, the attacks that had been against her coming to her mind. Could this be part of that?

It looked as though Syaoran was thinking the same thing because he too put on Sakura's expression as well.

Yukito nodded, letting a few silver strands fall over his eyes. "Yes, calling me home." He shrugged. "On my way out of my dorm, I felt as though something was missing…" he drifted off as in thought. "And, I don't remember last night. It's strange, I try to remember but every time I get close, I always black out."

Sakura's green eyes widened. Black out? What did he mean by that? "My father and I were feeling the same way-" Sakura stopped talking when she saw everyone's expression change into a confused one. "What?" she asked, looking from one another.

"Sakura, you don't have a father…"

Sakura stared at Tomoyo and shook her head. "What are you saying? I do have a father!" What was wrong with Tomoyo?

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Yukito took a step towards her. "What's wrong? Why are you saying you have a father? You don't have a father…"

Sakura's green eyes started filling up with tears. Why were they saying that? She had a father! She looked over at Syaoran who looked as though he was trying to process something. That gave her a little hope. She walked to him and looked into his brown eyes.

"Syaoran-kun, you know I have a father, right?" She stared deep into his eyes and hoped he would say yes. Why were they saying she didn't have father? She didn't wait for Syaoran to answer because she found perfect proof. "I do have a father," she turned towards Tomoyo and Yukito. "And his name is Fujitaka-"

"Sakura!" Syaoran fell to the floor beside her, grabbing her hand.

Sakura was on the floor, clutching at her chest again. Only, instead of the feeling of her heart being ripped out, it was the feeling of ice cold. She looked up and came in eye contact with Syaoran's amber eyes.

"Syaoran-kun, it's cold." She looked around and noticed that Tomoyo and Yukito were on the floor, as if they fainted. "What happened to them?" And the ice cold feeling returned, making her shudder and clutch at her heart again. "It's cold!"

Syaoran embraced Sakura and held on to her tight. "I'm here, Sakura, and I know you have a father. I believe you."

The cold feeling in her chest slowly began to fade in her chest, making her look up into Syaoran's eyes. Then, she felt it… the beating of that feeling. That feeling that had been beating to life ever since Syaoran's return. She didn't know it, but she was closing the distance between Syaoran and her. Her eyelids were becoming heavy and that feeling was beating even faster, alongside her heart. She wanted to feel his lips against hers, make the feeling continue…

"Egh!" Sakura looked away from Syaoran and hit her chest. It was that pain, it was starting! She needed the SHIELD card, and fast. She wanted to get her key, but the pain was too strong, even stronger than the day before. What was happening? Her eyes were shut really tight and she could tell she was still in Syaoran's arms because she could feel them.

"Sakura! Sakura!"

His voice was fading in and out, like if she was going to pass out soon. She wanted to say his name, tell him that it hurt and that she was scared. She couldn't though, she couldn't do anything but try and pull the pain out.

Syaoran looked down at Sakura, her face expression showed pain, and he hated that. He wanted to take it away, make her not suffer anymore. He was about to take out his pendant that turned into a sword when an explosion happened. He was blown with Sakura, making him hit his head on a store wall, making his vision become fuzzy a bit.

She heard it, the explosion, and she felt when her body hit the wall with Syaoran's. She wanted to open her eyes, scream out, get her key out and help out. She couldn't though; all she could do was clutch her chest.

"_Syaoran, I'm very happy that you came today."_

_Syaoran sat in a chair, with a plate and a piece of cake in front of him, a smile about to form on his lips._

"_The best birthday ever because you were here. Thank you."_

Her eyes, swiftly, opened and the pain was gone. She looked at Syaoran and saw him with his eyes closed, he'd fainted. She looked to the place where the explosion had taken place, and what she saw made her mouth drop open.

She got out from under Syaoran and took a few steps closer to the person standing there. The man was wearing a black cloak so she couldn't really see his face. From his figure, she could tell he was fit and looked to be very strong.

"What is your name?" asked the man, his voice as cold as that feeling that she'd felt earlier.

Her hand went up to her necklace, preparing herself incase she needed to get the Star key out and defend her friends. "S-S-Sakura," she tried to keep her voice from shaking, but it only worked a bit.

"Sakura?" repeated the man. "You are the holder of those magical cards, correct?"

Why is he asking this? She asked herself, in her mind. She shouldn't answer to strangers, she really shouldn't. Her father always told her to never talk to strangers. She glared at the figure and began to worry about the others. Were they alright?

"Answer me! Are you the holder of the once known Clow cards?"

His voice wasn't angry sounding, so Sakura didn't get that scared. It sounded as though he hoped she said yes… her lips began moving and she was going to answer. "Ha-"

"SAKURA!"

She turned around and saw Kerberos flying to her with his mouth open, about to attack the man. At the sight of Kerberos, the figured man raised his hand and swung it in the air, disappearing after it.

Sakura's eyes became heavy and she felt her legs start giving out on her. No, she couldn't black out right now! She wanted to see where that man went, she wanted to see that Tomoyo, Yukito and Syaoran were okay. Syaoran, was he okay? She had felt him his head when that explosion had happened. She tried opening her mouth to shout out his name, but failed. She felt as her legs lost their strength and as she fell towards the ground… then everything went black.

"_I want to tell you something…"_

"_What is it?"_

"_I-I-I…"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I lov-"_

"_Sakura!"_


End file.
